Scammed 34K, Help

[matty_c608]

I know someone who got scammed £34K recently. The company haven't realised we know it's a scam yet. It was web based, someone trying to buy a friends shares.

Basically, I gathered 2 bits of info. There was one company who said send us the £34K and buy a bunch of shares. Send us your certificate also, so we have 50% of company, so we have power over it (that make sense).

Well there were 2 URL's (not giving them here). I resolved them, found out they were hosting seperate sites on the same IP. One was the people who asked for the certificates etc, the other trying to act as some Law Enforcement Agency or whatever (they were the type you call to check if a business is legit).

Also, WHOIS them, you can see when the sites were first registered. Now according to both the sites content, one was found in 1999, the Law Enforcement joke in 2002. according to registration data, they were both registered in August 2004 and Sept 2004! So that makes the dates a fake, and the law enforcement a backup type thingy, to prove the business was legit, although it wasn't.

Sorry for the long story, hope you get whats happening! Well need some help, want to file a complaint, get the money back if possible! I mean 34K, feck...

So... They are US based, who do I contact? Our UK crime squad or the US FBI? We can still make contact with these people, they are kinda just playing us at the moment. They guy who usually speaks to is always in a "meeting". Can rarely get him!

Also, it is possible to fake the WHOIS? Ie. Put in fake details?

I kinda wanna get to the bottom of this, help a good family friend out! Anyone got any advice? Where I go next? Possible to get money back?

Cheers to all who read, look forward to your responses!

Matt.

[mercinary]

Sounds complicated but our "File a Complaint" section might help:

http://www.matrixwatch.org/modules.php?name=Content&file=viewarticle&id=10

-Merc

[matty_c608]

Would they complain to the US or UK since we're UK based, yet the scam is US Based..?

[mercinary]

Both...at least in my opinion. Start with the US.

-Merc

[concerned]

When in doubt, complain to everyone.

[matty_c608]

Ok, will get them to file those ASAP. Appreciating all the help, very fast responses!

[Arzel]

Yes complain to both, and the faster the better.

[matty_c608]

Well. we're gona go to the police station. See what they've got to say. I've gathered more evidence, and i'll present that to them if they want to listen.. The scammers don't even know that we know they're fakes. I mean £34K is a lot (maybe $60000 to US people!), is it something the authorities would look into, or would they simply ignore it/treat it low priority? I also seem to think that other people, unaware about this scam, will become victims of these same people too! Is it something too small for maybe FBI or some internet crime squad to look into, or do you think it'll be high priority, and looked into ASAP?

[mercinary]

A few notes:

#1: Your local police are probably going to tell you that this is an international issue and there is nothing they can do about it.

#2: This is definately something you should write to the IFCC about. Start by filing a complaint there.

#3: File complaints with all the agencies listed. The Attorney General of the state in question will be very interested to hear about this. This sounds a bit like securities fraud, so the SEC should be notified too. Long story short, just take our advice and file as many complaints as possible. It can only help you (or your friends or whatever).

-Merc